Apparatus for treating burns



Jan. 20, 1970 JJJ. E. A. DECUPPER APPARATUS FOR TREATING BURNS FiledMarch 25, 1967 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 1970 J. J. E. A. DECUPPER 3,490,443

APPARATUS FOR TREATING BURNS Filed March 23, 1967 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan.20, 1970 J. J. E. A. DECUPPER 3,490,443

APIPARATUS FOR TREATING BURNS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 23, 1967 Jan.20, 1970 J, 5 DECUPPER 3,490,443

APPARATUSFQR TREATING BURNS Filed March 23, 1967 I 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan.20, 1970 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed March 23, 1967 aw h m Q2 1 E u o: 2. Qm: m2 E 2 .vm we Jam 1970 J. J. E. A. DECUPPER 3,490,443

APPARATUS FOR TREATING BURNS Filed March 23, 1967 7 Sheets-Sheet 7United States Patent 55,096 Int. Cl. A61h 1/00; A61g 7/10 US. Cl. 128-244 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tight casing for treating severeburns containing a removable cradle for supporting the patient, which istiltable to modify its angular position.

As is known, the treatment of severe and extensive burns is subject toconsiderable difliculties because of, in particular, the danger ofinfection which is dangerous not only to the patient himself but also toother neighbouring patients in the same room, this being particularlytrue with modern methods for treating burns, notably with oxygen andpossibly by spraying atomized antibiotics, as with such methods nodressing is used on extensive wounds, the patient lying naked on asuitable bed or other form of support. In order to reduce the risk ofinfection to other patients and to the nursing staff, it has been deemeddesirable completely to isolate each patient suffering from burns in anindividual room in which the atmosphere has been sterilized and in whichthe patient is often placed in an oxygen tent. Such complete isolationof the patient, who, sometimes for several weeks on end, can only seehis visitors or members of his family through a glass partition andspeak to them over an intercom, generally induces a mental condition anda morale which are detrimental to healing. Moreover, the construction ofhospital centres provided with such individual isolation rooms isextremely costly. To overcome this drawback, it has been proposed toenclose patients suffering from severe burns in substantially airtightcasings in which a conditioned atmosphere can be created and which areprovided with openings giving access to the inside of the casingswhereby the patients may be attended to without moving them from theirbeds. The casings that have been proposed for this purpose are somewhatrudimentary and merely consist of an elongated box which is mounted onlegs and of which one end is hinged along its bottom edge to provide ahead rest on the outside of the casing whereby the patient may see andspeak to his visitors, read, watch a television set suitably located inthe room, etc. Since, by isolating each patient in a casing, the dangerof infection is greatly decreased, several such casings may be placed inone room. A plurality of longitudinally extending tubes on the removablecradle are connected to transversely extending arcuate members whichrest on elastic, grooved rollers. The weight of the patient bearing onthe elastic grooved rollers causes a braking action sufiicient toimmobilize the cradle in selected angular positions.

The present invention is concerned with a casing of this kind fortreating patients sufliering from severe burns which is designed so asto facilitate the handling and treatment of the patient and to makeprolonged treatment more bearable for him. The casing is characterizedin that it consists of a fixed foot panel and of three removabletransparent panels, preferably made of plastic material such asPlexiglas, which form the sides and top of the casing, whereas its frontwall, which is formed with an opening through which the patients headmay be passed, consists of a sheet metal part capable of being securedto a support which is mounted inside the casing on a chassis carryingthe latter and on which rests a removable cradle cum stretcher which ispreferably tiltable to modify its angular position.

The cradle consists of two arcuate, preferably tubular, members formingthe ends thereof, each resting on two grooved rollers mounted on thesupport, and of several longitudinally. extending connecting tubes,removable straps made of elastic material such as rubber being stretchedbetween the two horizontal tubes connecting the corresponding ends ofthe arcuate members to provide the patient-supporting surface. Further,the grooved rollers supporting the cradle are made of a rubber which issuffliciently resilient to be deformed under the weight of the cradleand of the patient to act as a brake, the end faces of each roller beingprovided with metal cheeks carried by a pin mounted in the support.

It thus becomes extremely easy for the cradle to be tilted into anyrequired angular position for nursing purposes, the cradle becomingautomatically blocked in the angular position it has been moved to andthe patient can himself alter the position of the cradle to increase hiscomfort. In addition, since the removable cradle can also be used as astretcher, the wounded can already be placed thereon at the side of theaccident thereby avoiding having to transfer the patient from onesupport on to another, such transfers being both painful and dangerous.

An embodiment of apparatus according to the invention will now bedescribed by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the casing as a whole;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the casing without its removablepanels, this view showing the transfer of the cradle together with itssliding support on to a patient- 7 conveying trolley;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the chassis that supports the casing;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are respectively an end view and a partiallycross-sectional view of the tiltable cradle FIGURES 6 and 7 show avariant in which the cradle supporting rollers are provided with brakes;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view of one of the stirrups used inassembling the removable panels with the foot panel and the head panelof the casing;

FIGURE 9 shows a variant of the casing illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 10 shows an arrangement for carrying out inside the casing acontrol of the air that is present-in the latter;

FIGURE 11 is a partial view of the means for carrying out this control;

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of a variant of the panel at the foot ofthe casing;

FIGURE 12A is a partially exploded view of FIG- URE 12;

FIGURE 13 is a further variant of the casing; and

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of the panel at the foot of the FIGURE13 casing.

The casing shown in FIGURES l and 2 for treating patients suffering fromburns comprises a dished rectangular chassis I mounted on a trolley 2.Fixedly mounted on the base-frame 1 are an upstanding panel 3, providedwith a rectangular window 4, and two cross-members 5 and 6 consisting ofchannel irons. These cross-members act as transverse slideways for amobile support carrying a removable cradle which can be used as astretcher and which will be described further on. The sides of thecasing consist of two panels 7 and 7, made of transparent plasticmaterial, such as Plexiglas, provided with metal frames 8 and 8', thetop of the casing consisting of a similar panel 9, 9. The side panelsand the top panel are provided with handles such as and 11 and 12 and12'. At its front end, i.e. where the patients head is to be located,the casing comprises a wedge-shaped member 13 made of sheet-metal whichis fixed to the laterally slidable support of the cradle. Thiswedge-shaped panel 13 is formed with a circular opening 14 through whichis passed the patients head and has secured thereto, by means of a hinge15, a padded support 16 forming a head rest. The opening 14 is providedwith a neck-seal consisting, in known manner, of a sleeve 17 made ofvery thin and flexible plastic material, such as polyethylene, secured,on the one hand, to an annulus which is fixed to the edge of the opening14 and, on the other hand, to an annulus 18 which is mounted so as to becapable of rotation on the fixed ring, such rotation of the movable ringcausing a twisting of the sleeve 17 and a very gentle, but sufficientlyairtight, tightening thereof around the patients neck in the manner ofan iris diaphragm. The wedge-shaped head panel 13 may moreover comprisea rectangular glass window 20 and be provided with one or more mirrors21 mounted above the patients head so as to enlarge his field of vision.

The side panels 7 and 7' are formed with openings 22, 22 and 22" whichgive access to the interior of the casing and which are provided withsealing devices 23, 23' and 23" similarly constructed to the diaphragm17, 18 in opening 14.

The top panel 9 rests at its opposite ends, via its frame 9' which isprovided on its under face with sealing strips not shown, on the topedge of the head panel 13 and on the top edge of the foot panel 3 and issecured to these two upstanding panels 3 and 13 by clamps 24, 24', 24"and 25, 25', 25" each consisting, as shown in FIG- URE 8, of astirrup-piece or angle-iron 26 which is formed on its horizontal portionwith an opening 27 through which extends an upstanding stud-bolt 28anchored in the top edge of the metal panel 3 or 13 and having screwedthereon a tightening nut 29 formed with a head 30. A spring 31 isprovided around the stud-bolt 28 to raise the angle-iron 26 and torelease the panel 9 when the nut 29 is being untightened.

As previously indicated, a support is mounted inside the casing and isarranged to slide sideways along slideways 5 and 6. This supportcomprises two transversely extending slide members 32 and 33 which fitinto the slideways 5 and 6 and which are connected by two longitudinallyextending bars 34 and 35. As shown on a larger scale in FIGURE 5, theslideways 5 and 6 consist of channel irons in which are mounted rollers36 supporting the slides 32 and 33.

A cradle forming the patients bed rests on the abovedescribed slidingsupport. This cradle consists of two arcuate tubular members 37 and 38Whose ends are connected by longitudinally extending tubes 39 and 40 onwhich are stretched readily removable straps or bands 41 providing thebed surface. The cradle may be tilted to bring it to any desired angularposition. To this end, each of the arcuate members 37 and 38 rests asshown in FIGURES 4 and 5 on two rollers 42 and 42' carried by pinsmounted in stirrup-pieces 43 and 43' which are fixed on thelongitudinally extending rods 34 and 35 of the support. These rollerscomprise a grooved body portion 44 made of elastically deformablematerial, such as rubber, at the ends of which are provided metal cheeks45 and 46 secured to the pin 47 extending through the roller. When apatient is lying on the cradle, the arcuate members 37 and 38 hearing onthe grooved roller bodies 44 cause a deformation of the latter such asto cause a braking action sufiicient to immobilize the cradle in anyselected angular position. However, in order to increase the safety ofthe arrangement, additional brakes may be resorted to, such brakesconsisting, as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, of stirrup-pieces 48 slidablymounted inside the roller-supporting stirrup-pieces 43. The upper edgesof the stirrup-pieces 48 have concave surfaces 49 and 50 shaped tocooperate with the periphery of the metal cheeks 45 and 46 against whichthey are urged by a spring 51 mounted around a stud 52 projectingthrough an opening formed in the base portion of the stirruppiece 48 andsecured in the base portion of the outer stirrup-piece 43. With such anarrangement, it is possible for the nursing staff, by inserting theirhands through the openings 22 of the casing side panels, to tilt thecradle into a suitable position to attend to the patient, the cradlebeing automatically immobilized in the position to which it has beenmoved. It is also possible for the patient himself to tilt the cradle onwhich he is lying thereby enabling him it move himself into a morecomfortable position.

As shown in FIGURE 2, there may further be provided, in order to wheelthe patient into an operating theatre or other location, a trolley 53which is provided with transversely extending slideways 54 and 55 thatare identical as regards strength, spacing and height to the slideways 5and 6 mounted on the casing chassis 3. It then suffices, once the panels7, 8 and 9 have been removed, accurately to position the trolley 53beside the casing chassis in order to transfer the patient-supportingcradle together with its support onto the trolley 53 without having todisturb the patient on his bed. This transfer operation is made safe bya spring-loaded hook 56 which is pivotally mounted on one of thelongitudinal frame members of the trolley 53 and which, when the cradlesupport comes to be correctly located on the trolley, snaps into a catch57 provided along one of the longitudinally extending rods of thesliding support.

As shown in FIGURE 3, two heating resistances '58 and 59 are mountedinside the box-chassis 1 to set up a suitable temperature in the casing,these resistances being connected to an external terminal box 60(FIGURE 1) containing switches which may, if desired, be controlled bythermostats mounted inside the casing.

To prevent condensation from occurring on the inner surfaces of thecasing panels, there is provided a cooling coil 61 Which is mounted onthe bottom of the box-like chassis 1 and which is supplied with coldwater through an inlet 62 fitted at one end of the chassis (FIGURE 2), awater outlet being fitted at the opposite end. Trays 63 and 64 andpossibly a pan 65 are placed on top of the cooling coil 61 to collectcondensates as well as the oozing and exudations caused by the burns,the introduction and removal of these trays being facilitated by flapsor doors 66, 67 and 68 provided in one of the side walls of the box-likechassis 1.

Piping 69 is also provided in the chassis 1 for introducing into thecasing oxygen or any other gaseous or atomized fluid required for thetreatment of the bums.

A hygrometer may also be placed in the casing to check the moisturecontent of the casing atmosphere.

It will be apparent from the preceding description that the apparatusaccording to the invention enables:

(l) The patient to be provided with practically all the care andattention that is required for his treatment without having to move himin any way, such as for instance washing, perfusions, oxygen therapy,spraying of atomized antibiotics, and ultra-violet ray sterilization,this being made possible by the access openings formed in the easing andby the fact that the bands 41 supporting burnt parts of the body can beunhooked.

(2) The maintenance within the casing of a conditioned and sterileatmosphere containing all that is required for disinfection andtreatment.

(3) The patient to be placed already at the site of the accident on aremovable cradle on which he will remain for his subsequent treatment,and for any X-ray examinations made necessary by possible fracturescaused by the same accident as the burns.

(4) The patient to be wheeled into an operating theatre or other specialtreatment room without having to move him from his bed.

(5) Several patients to be treated in one room and yet keep each patientin isolation.

(6) The patients mental condition and morale to be improved by making itpossible for him to receive visitors, to converse with them, to see hissurroundings, to read with the help of a suitable support that canreadlly be mounted on the front panel 13 above the opening 14 throughwhich is passed the patients head.

Finally it is also possible to place within the casing measuring anddiagnosing instruments, the data from such instruments beingelectrically transmitted outside the casing by means of circuitsconnected to the connection box 60.

The cradle support can finally be adapted to form scales whereby thepatient may periodically be weighed.

In the variant that is diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 9, thetray 1 which consists of a fiuidtight parallelipipedic box is mounted onthe chassis 2.

The cross-members 5 and 6 lie on two channel irons 70 and 71 which aredisposed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tray.

In these channel irons 70 and 71 are slidably fitted two rods 72 and 73which are carried by the front wall 13 formed with the opening 14 forthe patients head and provided with an actuation handle 74.

In this variant, the front wall 13 may be pulled away from the casing toenable only the stretcher 74 to be removed therefrom, the lattercomprising, as shown, a head rest 75 which is secured to its arcuatemember 38 and which can be adjusted both in height and as regardsdistance from the cradle.

The front wall 13 is adapted, when positioned against the casing, to besecured to the latter by locking means, not shown, consisting forinstance of trapped bolts which are freely rotatable in the front wall13 and which are screwed into threaded holes in the framework carried bythe tray 1.

Beneath the fiuidtight tray 1 is mounted a box 74 in which are housedheating and possibly cooling means (not shown). This enables the tray 1to be cleared of any operational means thereby enabling the tray to beused as a shower-bath basin.

For shower-bath purposes, a water inlet fitting 75 is provided on thefoot panel 3 and the hose 76 of a showerhead 77 is connected to theportion of the fitting 75 which projects into the casing. To remove usedwater, a dis charge tap, not shown, is provided at a suitable locationof the tray 1. It should further be noted that a supporting plate 78 isslidably mounted along the channel irons 70 and 71 whereby various pansmay be placed beneath the cradle 74.

Inside the tray 1 and along one of its side walls is provided anelongated housing 79 (FIGURES and 11) whose top wall is formed with anopening 80 near the front casing wall 13. At its opposite end, thehousing 79 carries an adjustable shutter device which is shown ingreater detail in the cross-sectional view of FIGURE 11.

In the elongated housing 79 are provided an ultra-violet lamp 81 and asmall fan 82 having a drive motor 83.

The device 80 has the appearance of a small box mounted on top of theelongated housing 79 and is provided in its top wall with an opening85,1ocated inside the casing, and, beneath the opening 85, With a hingedshutter 86 which is controlled by a handle 87 located outside the tray.

The box-like device backs on to the foot panel 3 :and in the latterthere is formed an opening 89 which is positioned beneath the hinge 90of shutter 86.

If the shutter 86 is moved to a vertical position, the opening 80communicates with the opening 85 so that when the fan 82 is working, theatmosphere of the casing can be made to circulate therein. If theshutter 86 is moved to its horizontal position and comes to bear againstabutment 91, the casing freely communicates with the 6 atmospherethrough opening 89 so that when fan 82 is working the atmosphere withinthe casing can be renewed.

The top wall of the elongated housing 79 comprises at least oneremovable plate so as to provide access to the ultra-violet lamp and tothe fan and motor unit.

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of the foot panel 3 near the bottom ofwhich is to be seen the opening 89 referred to above.

At the base of the foot panel 3 is provided a desk 92 on which aremounted all of the controls for the various electrical devices and inparticular the switches for operating the lamp 81 and the motor 83.

As the presence within the casing of these electrical devices could bethe cause of an explosion when the casing is supplied with oxygen, thedesk 92 is provided with a safety device which is constructed asfollows: a break is made in the electrical circuit supplying the devicesenclosed in the elongated housing 79 and the wire ends at the break areconnected to two sockets 93 and 94 positioned on opposite sides of amouthpiece 95 adapted to be connected to the oxygen source by a hose. Toclose the electrical circuit, there is provided a plug 96 having twopins 97 and 98 which are electrically connected to one another and whichare adapted to be inserted into the sockets 93 and 94. This device is sodesigned that the pins can be inserted into the sockets only when themouthpiece 95 is not connected by the hose to the oxygen source.

In the variant of FIGURE 13 is to be found again the fiuidtight tray 1carrying channel irons 70 and 71 in which :are slidably mounted rods 72and 73 secured to the bottom of the front wall 13 which is provided withactuation handles 98 and 99.

At the top corners of the front wall 13 are secured two rods 100 and 101which are parallel to the rods 72 and 73 and which are slidably mountedin hollow members 102 and 103. These hollow members 102 and 103preferably have a rectangular cross-section and they are secured in anappropriate manner, the details of which are not shown, for instance bywelding, to the foot panel 3 visible in FIGURE 14.

The front wall 13 such as shown in FIGURE 13 is box-like with atrapezoidal configuration and is fitted in its lower portion with twotrapped bolts 104 and 105 adapted, when the panel is moved into abuttingrelationship with the casing, to be screwed into threaded holes formedin two lugs 106 and 107 carried by the slideways 70 and 71. The box-likepanel 13 is secured to the casing by the clamps such as those shown inFIGURE 1.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 13 and 14, the casing consists of threeframes 108, 109 and 110 which are pivotally connected to one another, inthe manner of a folding screen, by hinges 111 to 116.

In each frame is mounted a transparent panel consisting for instance ofa pane made from a material such as Plexiglas.

The top frame 109 rests on the slideways 102 and 103 and is kept inposition thereon by trapped bolts, such as that identified by referencenumeral 117 and whose shank extends through a hole made in the top paneand is adapted to be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole made inslideway 102; in FIGURE 13, two trapped bolts have been shown, eachcooperating with one of the slideways 102 and 103. The side wall 108 ofthe casing moreover comprises a door 118 and two actuation handles 119and 120, and also a projection 121 (see FIGURE 14) which cooperates witha hook 122 pivotal ly mounted at 123 on the top of the foot panel 3.

The latter is provided with two actuation handles 124 and 125 which actas grips for manoeuvring the apparatus when the latter has to be moved,and, along the lower portion of the panel is secured a box 126 which issimilar to the box 92 and which carries all of the electrical controlmeans. The box 126 also houses the motor and fan unit and theultra-violet lamp of FIG- 7 URE 10, this lamp being visible through awindow 127. Finally, the panel 3 is fitted at 128 with a thermometerassociated with a hygrometer.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for treating severe and extensive burns, comprising atrolley, an elongated tray carried by said trolley, a front panelcarried by said tray at one end thereof and provided with an opening forpassing the head of a patient therethrough, a foot panel carried by saidtray at the opposite end thereof and three movable transparent panelsassociated with said front panel and said foot panel to form a casing, achassis mounted on said tray, a support mounted on said chassis, atleast two grooved rollers carried by said support, a removable cradlecum stretcher resting on said support, two arcuate members carried bysaid support at the opposite ends thereof, a plurality of longitudinallyextending tubes connecting said arcuate members and removable elasticstraps stretched between said tubes, wherein said grooved rollers aremade of elastic material having a resiliency such as to be crushed underthe Weight of a patient lying on said cradle cum stretcher, the endfaces of said rollers being provided with metal cheeks, said cheekscarrying a pin rotatably mounted in said support.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a stirrup-piecerotatably supporting each of said rollers, a further stirrup-piecehaving a concave upper edge, a spring urging said further stirrup-pieceagainst the metal cheeks of an associated one of said rollers.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support is mounted forlateral sliding motion on said chassis and comprises two longitudinallyextending frame members secured to cross-members carrying thecradlesupporting rollers and slidably mounted in two channel ironssecured transversely to said chassis and wherein are rotatably mounted aplurality of rollers supporting the cross-members of said support.

4. Apparatus for treating severe and extensive burns, comprising atrolley, an elongated tray carried by said trolley, a foot panel carriedby said trolley at one end thereof, a chassis mounted on said tray, afront panel carried by said chassis at its end remote from the footpanel and provided with an opening for passing the head of a patienttherethrough, three movable transparent panels associated with saidfront and foot panel, a support mounted on said chassis, at least twogrooved rollers carried by said support, a removable cradle cumstretcher resting on said support, two arcuate members carried by saidsupport at the opposite ends thereof, a plurality of longitudinallyextending tubes connecting said arcuate members and removable elasticstraps stretched between said tubes, said grooved rollers being made ofan elastic material having a resiliency such as to be crushed under theweight of a patient lying on said cradle cum stretcher and the end facesof said rollers being provided with metal cheeks, said cheeks carrying apin rotatably mounted in said support.

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